Jack, part of the problem, if that's what it is, was the invention of the phrase "non-fiction novel," mainly as a marketing ploy for Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood."

In theory, the "non-fiction novel" is non-fiction, but uses a "fictional" style.

For year one used bookstore in town has had sections called "novels" and "non-fiction novels." (Other kinds of non-fiction, like essays and poetry and science and so forth, are in their own categories.)

U.S. libraries, including most high-school libraries, often divide all books into sections of "fiction," "non-fiction," and "biography." University libraries often follow the Library of Congress system instead, which sorts everything into a single A-Z system and makes those distinctions only at a much lower level.

Adding to the confusion is the fact that even in high schools, "non-fiction" often includes books about literature, including poetry and story anthologies.